HLAA National Virtual Meeting – July 11!


We are excited to bring you highlights from HLAA2020 Convention in a new online format. We want to make access to this virtual event as easy as possible by providing you these helpful instructions:
Please email convention@hearingloss.org if you encounter issues during registration or have questions about the event.
Toni Barrient will be hosting, through her Hearing Well Club, a virtual meeting on Tuesday, June 9 at 2pm the following:
Our June meeting will cover the latest research on Brain Hearing, Listening Effort, and Effective communication under challenging situations.

It’s the sign of the times these days. To stay connected, the world is virtual through various online communication platforms. On Saturday, May 16, the chapter had our first virtual meeting using Zoom. Meeting transcript can be found here.
We miss you and hope you and your loved ones are safe and in good health.
As we try to navigate our world(s) during this unprecedented and extraordinarily difficult time, we have the added burden of trying to hear and understand family members, grocery store employees, health care workers and others through their face masks, without the ability to read lips as well as having to contend with strange and muffled sounds that emanate through the speaker’s masks.

Rebecca Alexander

Grace celebrating her 100th birthday!
The hearing loss community and our chapter lost an icon when our beloved Grace Tiessen passed away at 11am on March 23. She passed away calmly and quietly in her home of 62 years. This was her wish, no ER, no nursing homes, just at home with her children watching over her.
Grace had a storied life full of many experiences, including going back to school at age 51, graduating from UC Berkeley in 1940 at a time when women graduating college was very rare, and joining HLAA in 1984 after asking herself the question, “What does it mean to be hard of hearing in the hearing world?”.
Update: Due to the Coronavirus situation and CDC recommendations, we have cancelled our March meeting.As many of you know, we have been in a lengthy process to find a new home for our chapter meetings. After much perseverance by our dedicated President, Sharon Swerdlow, and tips from our chapter members, a home has been found! We will start our new journey at the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles starting with our Saturday, March 28, 2020 meeting.